Group asks stakeholders to fight gender violence

Governance, Gender, Justice and Development Centre (GGJDC) has asked stakeholders in Mchinji to fight all forms of violence against women aspiring for various political leadership positions.

The appeal follows a recent orientation of traditional and religious leaders on Women Empowerment for Leadership Programme GGJDC is implementing

Speaking in an interview, GGJDC executive director Ruth Manda said the country’s political environment is volatile as evidenced by different forms of speeches by politicians on various media platforms.

She said: “We do not want women to be intimidated by the vice. We will conduct a lot of citizen forums and road shows to ensure that there is sanity in the way politicians advance their campaign issues.

“We will ensure all women aspirants have access to the committees so that they report any political violence and potential harassment during the campaign period,” Manda said.

Commenting on the matter, a representative of Traditional Authority Zulu, Lloyd Pondani, said one of the major reasons that discourage women from participating fully in political leadership positions is violence.

District gender officer Mariana Kanjirawaya encouraged chiefs and religious leaders to report any form of political harassment to authorities.

The project is funded by Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.